Counties with the most tornadoes in Kentucky

It’s been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Kentucky that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren’t all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country’s tornadoes. It’s a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Kentucky.

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#50. Madison County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.83 per 100 square miles)
– #1,184 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#49. Barren County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.85 per 100 square miles)
– #1,166 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#48. Estill County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.98 per 100 square miles)
– #1,076 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#47. Mercer County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (2.01 per 100 square miles)
– #1,052 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#46. Grayson County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.01 per 100 square miles)
– #1,048 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Allen County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.03 per 100 square miles)
– #1,035 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Henry County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (2.10 per 100 square miles)
– #988 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#43. Scott County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (2.13 per 100 square miles)
– #967 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Grant County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (2.33 per 100 square miles)
– #842 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#41. Marion County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.33 per 100 square miles)
– #834 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Shelby County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.37 per 100 square miles)
– #814 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#39. Warren County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.40 per 100 square miles)
– #788 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Hardin County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.41 per 100 square miles)
– #783 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Hart County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.43 per 100 square miles)
– #768 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Breckinridge County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.47 per 100 square miles)
– #742 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Crittenden County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.50 per 100 square miles)
– #729 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. Simpson County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (2.56 per 100 square miles)
– #699 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. Garrard County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (2.61 per 100 square miles)
– #678 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Taylor County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.63 per 100 square miles)
– #662 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Edmonson County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.64 per 100 square miles)
– #657 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Oldham County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (2.67 per 100 square miles)
– #644 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#29. Monroe County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.73 per 100 square miles)
– #623 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Metcalfe County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.76 per 100 square miles)
– #606 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Hopkins County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.77 per 100 square miles)
– #603 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Meade County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.95 per 100 square miles)
– #524 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#25. LaRue County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (3.06 per 100 square miles)
– #476 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#24. Carlisle County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (3.17 per 100 square miles)
– #432 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Caldwell County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (3.19 per 100 square miles)
– #420 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Livingston County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (3.19 per 100 square miles)
– #418 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Muhlenberg County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (3.21 per 100 square miles)
– #412 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. Spencer County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (3.21 per 100 square miles)
– #409 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Trimble County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (3.30 per 100 square miles)
– #382 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#18. Boyle County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (3.33 per 100 square miles)
– #372 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#17. Todd County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.47 per 100 square miles)
– #336 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Union County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.79 per 100 square miles)
– #266 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#15. Henderson County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (4.12 per 100 square miles)
– #209 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#14. Trigg County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (4.30 per 100 square miles)
– #183 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#13. Hickman County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (4.54 per 100 square miles)
– #151 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Clinton County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (4.56 per 100 square miles)
– #148 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. Daviess County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (4.58 per 100 square miles)
– #143 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#10. Fulton County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (4.87 per 100 square miles)
– #118 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#9. Lyon County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (5.14 per 100 square miles)
– #95 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#8. Webster County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (5.42 per 100 square miles)
– #78 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Graves County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (5.62 per 100 square miles)
– #69 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Jefferson County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (5.78 per 100 square miles)
– #62 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 5

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#5. Marshall County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (6.31 per 100 square miles)
– #42 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#4. Ballard County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (6.49 per 100 square miles)
– #36 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#3. Christian County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (6.55 per 100 square miles)
– #34 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#2. McCracken County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (7.24 per 100 square miles)
– #22 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#1. Calloway County

– Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (7.79 per 100 square miles)
– #17 nationally
– Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1